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I hope you read the title a la Princess Vespa trapped in a cell. If not, go here.

What qualifies a round ball of something as a truffle? The sweet kind, not the fungus kind.

Well, according to dear Mr. Wiki, “Their name derives from the usual shape they take as the word ‘truffle’ derives from the Latin word tuber, meaning “swelling” or “lump”, which later became tufer.”

So there you go, a lump. Sounds scrumptious, right? There are evidently different versions of what is considered a truffle, depending on where it comes from. French, American, Belgian, and Swiss are a few. Apparently, these ones we have here might qualify as a “vegan truffle.” The “Vegan truffle” can have any shape or flavor, but is adapted to modern-day diet by replacing dairy with nut milks and butters. (Source)

Confession- I am extremely picky about chocolate. I can not stand to bite into chocolate. Just the thought of it stuck to my teeth makes me curl my lip, even as I type. I like half melted chocolate, like in a warm cookie. Chocolate truffles are a chocolate covered teeth disaster waiting to happen. You can imagine my elation when I saw these sweet potato pie truffles. Little round balls of “dessert” that won’t cause me any dental discomfort? Oh me oh my.

I completely intended to make them exactly as written. I did. I love sweet potatoes! Then I remembered there was leftover roasted butternut squash in the fridge that I couldn’t let go to waste. I thought maybe I didn’t need quite so much maple syrup, and maybe I can substitute my homemade pumpkin pie spice instead; and maybe I didn’t need so much coconut flour- that stuff sucks up moisture better than a dry sponge. Wow that was a weak analogy. Sorry.

My daughter’s honest reaction to these truffles:

After first bite: “This isn’t dessert.”

After second bit: “Mmm!”

After first bite of second truffle: “These are so delicious Mom!”

These morsels of happiness came together rather quickly; even when I realized it was a bit too much dough to fit into my little Ninja and switched to manual stirring in a bowl. The cool thing about them? You can use any squash puree you want- pumpkin, butternut, whatever. And of course, sweet potato would also work.

Ingredients

1 cup butternut squash puree

1/4 cup pecans

1/8 cup pure maple syrup

1 tsp real vanilla

1 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice

5 TB coconut flour

1/8 cup toasted coconut

1/8 cup coconut sugar

Directions

Add pecans to a food processor and process until it’s a meal.

Add the squash and mix.

Add vanilla and spices, mix.

Add the coconut flour a tablespoon at a time, until you get the consistency you’d like. I used 5 TB, you might want more or less.

I made it to the other side of midterms week alive and mostly unscathed. I had a good 60% reduction in homework over the weekend, so I took full advantage of it! In the past weeks, my only “me” time has been working out at JTS. So what do I do with a whole day without studying? More exercise, naturally. I went falling hiking, even though I don’t have the correct shoes for it, especially in the snow. I had a blast. It was much needed.

Yes, I’m laughing so hard my eyes are barely open.

If you follow me on facebook, you might have seen my purchase of a certain coconut product that came in the mail- Nikki’s pumpkin spiced donut coconut butter. It’s amazing on any fruit or baked good. Or…on a spoon. With some Enjoy Life chocolate chips. Yep, I went there. I would recreate this wonderful coconut butter myself, but my food processor just isn’t sharp enough nor powerful enough to make coconut butter. I’ve made plain coconut butter three times, and those will be the last until I can upgrade my processor. It should not take 60 minutes and a ton of melted coconut oil added to make it the right consistency.

Maybe the world has gotten a little too obsessed with pumpkin-flavoring-everything. I spotted these in Fred Meyer the other day. While I’m a don’t-knock-it-till-you-try it kind of person, I am just going to say no to pumpkin and potatoes. Plus I don’t eat chips anyhow.

No thanks.

My fridge had run out of sweet snacks for my husband to put into his lunch. I hadn’t noticed; so he kindly asked me to make my chocolate coconut no-bake cookies and I eventually got around to obliging a few days later in between the hectic whirring around the city and formidable study-homework-test-report-study-homework tornado. Staring at the recipe on my fridge, spatula in hand, I thought about the almond butter and what I could substitute in for it. I have gotten in the habit of smothering bananas/apples in it right before I take off for biology class, and therefore wanted to preserve what I could for that bad, delicious addiction.

It was like one of those cartoonish lightbulb- epiphany moments. Pumpkin spiced cookies! It’d be so easy. And it was. These are even better than the originals.

Watch it as you bring mixture to a boil for 1 minute, stirring with a spatula to prevent burning..

Immediately remove from heat. Stir in the coconut butter and vanilla.

Stir in shredded coconut until everything is coated evenly.

To get the shape of my cookies, I used a spatula to press a little of the mixture into a small Tupperware and packing it firmly. Then add a little more and pack it in more. Because of the coconut oil, it’ll fall right out onto a parchment lined baking sheet. I have found that this shape crumbles less when bitten into.

Alternatively, you can simply scoop out spoonfuls onto the parchment paper.

Toss into the fridge until set- a few hours at most. Once that happens you can transfer them into a container and store in the fridge. Serve cold.

**Softened coconut butter and an extra 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of pumpkin spice may be substituted.

Hey guys. I’m “back.” I’m recovering from my second illness in a month and trying my darndest to remember how the citric acid cycle in cellular respiration works, along with molecular shape and VSEPR theory. So much fun, I tell ya.

You may recall my nervousness at the beginning of the school year. I was worried about keeping up with packing a nourishing, satisfying lunch for my daughter to take to kindergarten. Thirty-some-odd packed lunches later, I’m over my initial apprehensiveness. These past seven weeks have been a trial-and-error/ learn as I go period. Now I fret less and even take less time preparing everyday.

Ask what they want. After the first few weeks of choosing for her, I started to let my daughter decide what to eat. Surprisingly, she asked for the same things she had already been eating. I would simply add one or two things to make it a more complete lunch.

This or that. For tough food categories, I give her the choice between what we have. She’s old enough to understand that this is what available; so she has to pick out of what there is. Example: Jerky, tuna, or turkey?

Some kids like a lot of variety. My daughter is not one of those. She is ok with having only a few things in rotation, as you’ll see in the pictures below. She does get plenty of variety in her breakfast, snack, and dinner though.

Finger foods are fun. We don’t consume many finger foods at dinner anymore (ex. pizza;) so having things like cherry tomatoes, olives, and raw veggies to pick up with her hands are so cool. At least to my five (and a half) year old.

It’s ok to introduce new foods during the school year. I’ve had a pep talk or two about how new foods might not taste very good the first or second time. It might take a lot of small tries to learn to like something new. (FYI- it’s worked.)

Buy a thermos. I didn’t get one until my daughter didn’t eat something “because it was cold” a few times. Twelve bucks at Target later, she was happily wolfing down hot meatballs and spaghetti squash at school.

Before we bought the thermos, she was only carrying her cute LunchBots bento box and a water bottle. After the thermos purchase, we got little bag on clearance to stash everything in. Thank goodness it’s machine washable.

Usually she gets water to drink. On the occasion that I do pack her juice or milk, I throw in an ice pack, which wouldn’t have worked without the aforementioned lunch bag.

Store bought “lunch” type meat is either priced high or high in preservatives and flavors. Added flavors really irk me, whether “natural” or artificial. To me, that says “whatever meat we’re feeding you is so crappy that we had to add other crap to make you think it tastes good.” While I have bought some Applegate sliced meats here or there, we have made a lot of the others and saved a ridiculous amount of money, not to mention peace of mind knowing exactly what I’m feeding my child.

On to the pictures! These are the real lunches I’ve packed, and my daughter has eaten.

If you’re more into lists than pictures, here’s a breakdown of these real food lunches:

There you have it. Real food lunches- easy. But wait! What about that one thing in the picture? How did I make it? What’s the recipe? Don’t be shy- ask in the comments below and you shall receive.

But wait! There’s more! I will be updating this post at least once a week with MORE lunches and ideas! That’s right, this very post right here will continue to grow. So if you run out of ideas or are just looking for something a little different, hop on over and you’ll be glad you did.

Oh yes, I jumped on the bandwagon. It’s mid-September, so I must consume something flavored with this orange squash that is oh-so popular in the autumn months. But as I sit here with cold feet on this cloudy day, I can’t help but miss the sunshine. This is the first summer I’ve particularly enjoyed the sunshine. I wore shorts that were shorter than my knees (gasp!) and even sported a bikini top instead of a tankini. I wasn’t constantly thinking about how fat my arms looked when I wore a tank top. It was nice being so comfortable with my body without six layers on in the sweltering sun. The swimming, sun tanning, lazy summer days are now behind me and I’m reluctantly accepting the changing of the seasons. Autumn means back to a routine, each week hurtling towards the cold winter that will get here too fast and linger too long. Autumn- when I’ll have just a fraction of the family time I’ve enjoyed these past months. So onward I I trudge into September with nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, and ginger for comfort.

A lot of pumpkin creamers out there (especially the store bought ones) are just pumpkin spice creamers. Which means just the traditional spices paired with pumpkin. I wanted actual pumpkin in my creamer- for both flavor and the goodness of the squash. Pumpkin is a great source of Vitamin A, C, and fiber (among others.)

I tried researching a creamer that looked yummy, but most of them didn’t use very much pumpkin and the dairy-free versions used almond milk. I enjoy the creamy-ness of coconut milk in my coffee, so I thought I’d just make up a recipe and taste as I go. Turns out I’m a pumpkin creamer genius, because after my first attempt and taste I couldn’t think of a single thing to add to it. I liked it so much I immediately proceeded to make a second batch.

Pumpkin Creamer

1 cup coconut milk

1/3 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup raw honey (can sub. maple syrup)

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Throw everything into a food processor, blender, or bowl and mix until well incorporated. Refrigerate. You’re done. That was so fast, now you can go rake some leaves, make an apple pie, or whatever Autumnal festivities you prefer.

It’s back to school time around my neck of the woods. My daughter will be starting kindergarten in less than a week; and while I may have a calm exterior, internally I’m fighting the urge to freak out. I know my social butterfly 5 year old will love kindergarten. She went to half-day preschool last year at a public school, so many things won’t be new or scary to her. What I’m not freaking out about is me. This is the beginning of a decade of making school lunches, driving, more driving, and coordinating my classes to work with whatever school or extracurricular activities that interest her. I have a resolute stance that yes, I can handle it all like a champ. But then I have this meek, inner doubt trying to squeak out, are you sure you can keep up with it all?

Last year was a breeze. My husband was off of work due to an injury, and was available for driving, meal making, and keeping up with housekeeping. I had few classes on campus, and therefore a highly flexible schedule. My daughter was in school for 3 hours, and ate all her meals at home. This year, my husband is back to working full(and over-)time, I have many hours where I have to be on campus for classes, and my daughter will have to eat lunch at school for the first time ever. That means I’m the main meal maker, including portable lunches for both my husband and daughter.

Needless to say, I’ve been preparing for weeks. Influencing posts by Michelle of Nom Nom Paleo persuaded me to purchase a LunchBot for my daughter to use. It comes in the mail tomorrow and I think I’m more excited than she is. Michelle has some great lunch ideas that I’m sure I”ll refer to when I get tired of making my go-to lunches.

A challenge I’ve recently faced is making foods that are easy to eat while driving, because my husband’s career isn’t always accommodating with a lunch hour at a table or with access to a kitchen. Beyond raw, cut vegetables (that are always included in his lunch box whether he chooses to put them in or I lovingly slip them in after I notice he hasn’t packed enough) I wanted to make something that is closer to a balanced snack that is fantastically delicious, to the point of looking forward to eating it. Something with fat, protein, and sweet goodness. In comes trail mix to save the day! I spent some time in my favorite place (Marlene’s bulk cooler) and scooped baggies full of the good stuff.

For the sweetness part, I perused a list of real snacks compiled by Katie of Girl Meets Nourishment and immediately wanted to give the cinnamon roasted almonds a try. The original poster uses pure cane sugar, which I don’t use. I did have a bunch of coconut sugar though, and honestly I had no idea if it would work as a substitute for this particular recipe; but I was willing to sacrifice having sticky nuts if it didn’t turn out right. I figured if it could become granulated/crystallized once, I could do it again.

Cinnamon Roasted Almonds

1 1/2 cups roasted almonds (if using raw, you can roast them beforehand for 10 minutes at 350°)

1/2 cup coconut sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp sea salt

2 TB water

In a big skillet, add all your ingredients except the almonds. Mix it all together until if forms a paste.

Add the almonds and stir to coat.

Place the skillet on a burner over medium, and stir. Stir, stir….constantly for 7-10 minutes.

This is what stirring looks like, in case you didn’t know…

Don’t walk away from them, you have to keep stirring and watching them like a hawk. After a while, the mixture will begin to solidify.

Keep stirring until the sugar crystallizes onto the nuts.

Immediately remove from the heat and pour onto some parchment to cool.

Hardened coconut sugar

They are perfect on their own. Maybe a little too perfect. Without restraint, I’m sure I could have eaten the ENTIRE batch in one day. To prevent myself from eating handfuls of them at a time (besides that first one, of course) I put them into my fantastic trail mix.

Yum Nom Mmmm Nummy

Trail Mix

Cinnamon roasted almonds

Pecans

Pistachios

Raisins

Goji berries

Coconut flakes

Sunflower seeds

Pumpkin seeds

Use whatever proportions you like. You know you’re going to pick out your favorite ones anyways.